Pedestrian killed by truck while crossing Saugerties street

Thursday

Jan 30, 2014 at 8:13 PMJan 30, 2014 at 8:14 PM

Gittel Evangelist

SAUGERTIES — A 57-year-old pedestrian died after being hit by a truck Thursday morning at the intersection of Main and Partition streets in the village, police said.Saugerties police say a 2005 Chevrolet dual-wheel utility truck driven by 60-year-old Elwood Hewitt of Saugerties was making a right turn from Main Street onto Partition Street at 8:46 a.m., when Robert Carlson, also of Saugerties, stepped off the curb and into the path of the truck.The incident was captured on police surveillance video. In the video, Carlson is seen stepping into the roadway outside of the crosswalk, without looking in either direction, directly into the path of the truck, police said.Carlson was extricated from under the truck by firefighters and treated at the scene before being airlifted to Albany Medical Center. He succumbed to his injuries at 1:56 p.m., police said.A portion of Main and Partition streets were closed down for about two hours while detectives investigated. Police say there is no indication of a crime on the part of the truck driver.“This is an unfortunate accident, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the Carlson family,” police Chief Joseph Sinagra said in a news release. “This is another reminder of the importance of why people need to remember to only cross the intersections in the village where designated to do so and to always check for vehicle traffic before stepping into the roadway.”gevangelist@th-record.com